Thinking about my 13yo's Xmas present, and she has been eyeing laptops lately. Currently she is using an old Opty755 desktop with a Xeon 3070 (E6700 sibling) and Q35 Xpress Graphics so I wouldn't want anything that would give less performance than that. She uses a lower-end Wacom tablet to draw her graphics with Sketchbook Pro and also the old "Paint Tool SAI" (She didn't really care for Photoshop). Do I have to look for a minimum cpu or minimum graphics solution for this? I don't know whether to look at the i3's with HD3000/HD4000 graphics that have more CPU power or the AMD offerings with weaker cpus but better graphics. For her needs, which road should I be traveling? She is actually just getting a hundo to put with money she has already saved, then I will add to that from my hidden gym sock stash depending on what it takes to get something as inexpensive as possible but still get the job done. I'm thinking this could fall anywhere in the $350-$500 range. I could probably get more bang from an e-tailer like the Egg but going to Microcenter, BestBuy or Walmart lets me put hands-on to play with it before I buy. Also, this doesn't have to happen before Xmas, if I can get an even better deal on an after-Xmas clearance that would be perfectly acceptable! Suggestions?

I have come to the conclusion that "FaceBook" should be renamed "FacePalm"

Hmmmm I see offerings with the newer Q3 '13 A6-5200 2Ghz Quad or the older Q1 '13 A6-5350M 2.9Ghz Dual. Faster frequencies or more cores/threads? Although she'll use the tablet/draw at her desk, I can see her using this in the living room to surf and having it in her lap a lot, so maybe heat could be an issue too.

Thanks!

I have come to the conclusion that "FaceBook" should be renamed "FacePalm"